08ASTANA411, KAZAKHSTAN: UPSURGE IN NEGATIVE MEDIA COVERAGE OF

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000411
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (M. O'MARA)
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUMPGOVPRELKDEMKIRFKZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: UPSURGE IN NEGATIVE MEDIA COVERAGE OF
NONTRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS GROUPS
REF: Astana 113
ASTANA 00000411 001.2 OF 002
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Several media outlets in the last month have
published or broadcast stories critical of religious groups not
traditional to Kazakhstan, such as evangelical Protestant
Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientologists, and Hare Krishnas,
depicting them as dangerous sects harmful to society. The stories
are consistent with warnings found in the recently-adopted state
program on religion and with President Nazarbayev's January 17
speech criticizing foreign missionaries and religious radicalism.
Almaty Helsinki Committee chairperson Ninel Fokina claims the media
stories were ordered and paid for by the government and are designed
to help lay the groundwork for amendments to the religion law. End
summary.
--------------------------------------------- ------
MINORITY RELIGIOUS GROUPS FACE NEGATIVE MEDIA BLITZ
--------------------------------------------- ------
¶2. (U) In recent weeks, there have been a spate of hostile stories
in the Kazakhstani media regarding non-traditional religious groups.
On February 15, the national Express-K newspaper published an
article entitled "Sect in the City," featuring an interview with a
Committee for National Security (KNB) agent involved in combating
religious extremism. The article declared that "[p]ractically any
insane person in our country can get his religious group registered
and proclaim himself a Messiah, Superman, or God's envoy," and
criticized weak national legislation allowing "religious swindlers"
to operate in the country. The KNB agent, identified only by a
pseudonym, spoke extensively about the dangers of sects and how they
compel members to give up their property, become distant from their
families, and renounce their historical beliefs. He also stated
that in some cases, foreign intelligence agents work undercover as
religious missionaries.
¶3. (U) The agent specifically criticized the Unification Church,
Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientologists, and Hare Krishnas, and claimed
that these groups run big industrial and financial empires and
aspire to obtain power over the whole world. He further explained
that new Christian and Buddhist organizations are as dangerous to
Kazakhstan as Islamic extremists, as adherents of these groups lose
everything, turn away from society, can no longer be trusted to
serve in the army or do responsible work, and will ultimately blow
themselves up like Al-Qaeda suicide bombers if called upon to do so
by their sect. He rejected criticism by human rights activists that
the KNB infringes on religious freedom, and said that such opinions
were "paid for by bourgeoisie grants exclusively." Finally, he
urged parents to call the authorities if they or their children are
being threatened by a sect.
¶4. (U) On February 17, government-owned Kazakhstan TV broadcast a
story about the threat facing Kazakhstan from various religious
teachings and sects, mostly from abroad. The reporter quoted
President Nazarbayev's January 17 speech in which he warned that
Kazakhstan should not become a "garbage heap" for religious groups
(reftel), and said that many groups which have no support in their
own countries were finding haven in a tolerant Kazakhstan. The
broadcast featured an interview with a husband who claimed he was
unable to free his wife from the influence of the Jehovah's
Witnesses, as well as an interview with a prison official
complaining about churches like the New Life Church sending books
and other materials to prisoners. The reporter concluded by warning
that "destructive and totalitarian sects can operate in Kazakhstan
on a legal basis" and that missionaries can lead to the "emergence
of religious extremism at any point."
¶5. (SBU) Fedor Zhitnikov, national chairman of the Jehovah's
Witnesses in Kazakhstan, told us that a local television station in
Semey (East Kazakhstan Oblast) aired a half-hour program about the
Jehovah's Witnesses in mid February. According to Zhitnikov, the
program attempted to defame the Jehovah's Witnesses, showing several
members of the community and then adding negative comments depicting
them as extremists. He claimed that the program was initiated by
municipal officials.
¶6. (U) On February 19, independent television Channel 31 broadcast
an interview with a woman in Shymkent whose son became a Jehovah's
Witness, leading to a serious conflict within the family. The woman
claimed that "Western pastors" specifically target disabled people
like her son, who is deaf. The broadcast also featured an interview
with a religious scholar who criticized unspecified groups for
handing out booklets on the street and leading people astray.
During the broadcast, officials from the South Kazakhstan Oblast
Department of Internal Policy expressed hope that the parliament
will pas
s new religion law amendments this year to better control
the situation.
ASTANA 00000411 002.2 OF 002
¶7. (U) On February 20, the national Liter newspaper published an
article critical of the Baptist Council of Churches, the branch of
the Baptist church in Kazakhstan that refuses to register with the
government as a matter of principle (see the 2007 International
Religious Freedom Report for Kazakhstan). According to the article,
the Baptists have repeatedly refused to register and continue to
meet together illegally, despite warnings from law enforcement
officials. The author concludes that the Baptists think "earthly
affairs" such as registration with the government are not
important.
¶8. (U) On February 25, the national Megapolis newspaper published an
article critical of the Church of Scientology. According to the
author, about a dozen Scientology groups are active in Kazakhstan,
and some are registered. (Note: According to the Religious Issues
Committee in the Ministry of Justice, there were four registered
Scientology groups in the country as of April 2007. End note.) The
article portrayed the group as pernicious and militant, determined
to infiltrate Kazakhstani society and politics and bring church
members to power. The author explained that the Scientologists have
run into problems in other countries, but were now prepared to
"cultivate Kazakhstan's virgin lands."
--------------------------------------
NEGATIVE COVERAGE LINKED TO GOVERNMENT
--------------------------------------
¶9. (SBU) According to Ninel Fokina, chairperson of the Almaty
Helsinki Committee, the recent negative media coverage indicates
that the government has begun implementing its recently-adopted
program for government activities in the religious sphere (reftel).
The program warns of the "increasingly active operation of
non-traditional religious groups" and lax regulation of missionaries
and the dissemination of religious materials. The program also
calls for using the media to educate the public about the dangers of
religious extremism and destructive sects, including contracting
with the media to provide for "a set of on-going columns, TV series,
and radio programs on national and local media on religious freedom
issues and prevention of religious extremism." (Note: Government
contracting with the media is widespread in Kazakhstan. Government
agencies receive budget allocations for media publications and sign
contracts with journalists and media outlets to publish stories on
themes desired by the agency. End note.)
¶10. (SBU) Fokina contended that the recent spate of negative media
coverage was ordered and paid for by the government as part of the
program. She said that the pro-government nature of the outlets
involved, such as Express-K, Kazakhstan TV, and Megapolis, supports
this claim. In addition to educating the public about the purported
dangers of these religious groups, she told us she believes the
media coverage is part of a larger strategy by the Ministry of
Justice to lay the groundwork for amendments to the religion law.
-------
COMMENT
-------
¶11. (SBU) Comment: The timing of the news stories, the consistent
themes, and the government program's call for government-contracted
media coverage all strongly suggest that these negative news stories
are part of a government campaign to combat what it apparently views
as religious extremism. The specific identification and criticism
of groups such as evangelical Protestant Christians, Jehovah's
Witnesses, Scientologists, and Hare Krishnas raise serious concerns
that the authorities are moving to define religious extremism very
broadly. Though hundreds of these groups are currently registered
and active in Kazakhstan, we believe the Ministry of Justice and
other agencies will likely increase the pressure on these groups and
continue pushing for more restrictive legislation. End comment.
ORDWAY

The information recorded on this site has been extracted from http://Wikileaks.org (Kazakhstan) database..

We wish to express our gratitude to Julian Assange and his team for making this data available as it is an important public record.

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